This invention relates to latex compositions and to their use with textile materials to improve the low temperature properties thereof.
Although a great variety of resin latices have been developed which are useful as finish coats, binders, adhesives, back-coatings, transfer films and interlayers for a wide variety of textile applications, there is lacking a textile resin of the acrylic latex type which provides, alone or in cooperation with other materials used in textiles, resistance to cracking at the low temperatures often encountered. For example, wearing apparel, such as clothing and shoe uppers, and particularly upholstery for automobiles, must be supple and drape well, must be impact and abrasion-resistant, and must be free from surface tack and blocking tendencies not only at room temperatures and the highest use temperatures, but also at low temperatures sometimes encountered during use, transport or storage, of the order of about -20.degree. C. and especially -30.degree. C. and lower. Textile resins are available which satisfy these requirements. However, the resins are of the plastisol or solution polymer type and are becoming less desirable due to hazards accompanying their application to fabrics (such as fire hazards due to the use of organic solvents) or upon burning of textiles containing such resins (such as dense smoke and noxious fumes).
Acrylic polymer latices have outstanding advantages over plastisol and solution polymer resin systems as textile resins. Their all-aqueous nature permits excellent handling ease. They provide good hand, strength, durability, low hazard and low cost without external plasticizers. Moreover, they are compatible with a variety of additives, colorants and other textile coating materials. Nevertheless, an ability to impart low temperature properties to textiles has not been achieved. One measure of significant low temperature acceptability is a "cold crack" temperature of -30.degree. C. or lower. Cold crack measurements reflect the ability of a textile material treated with a textile resin to withstand cracking upon impact or folding at low temperatures. However, it will be appreciated that even if a resin imparts good cold crack to a textile material, the resulting treated textile must also be acceptable from several other standpoints, particularly low surface tack, impact and abrasion resistance, and good flexibility at all use temperatures. The achievement of a suitable balance among all of these properties is largely empirical and is not predictable on the basis of achievement of any one or even several of the properties.